Recently in Pico Rivera Category
Tonight is the night you can become a super hero!
That might be an exaggeration. Would you go for just a regular hero?
All right, probably just neighborhood watch member or an active community member ready to have some barbecue in an effort to combat crime community style. (I prefer Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtle style, but that's not cool anymore or something)
Tonight is National Night Out, where local departments host anti-crime events at parks and block parties.
For those looking to get involved, here is a list of participating cities. Contact your local police department for more information.
San Gabriel Valley cities participating in National Night Out:
Alhambra, Arcadia, Baldwin Park, Duarte, El Monte, Glendora, La Verne, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Sierra Madre, West Covina, Whittier
For more information call your local city police departments.
Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune
After a survey of city manager salaries across the San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena and Whittier areas (coverage area for our three newspapers) none are making Bell type salaries, but no one is going hungry (or without a six figure salary) either.
And yet another story that shows what goes around, probably came around because of Bell.
Amid revelations that Bell city officials skirted state salary limits by becoming a charter city, Covina council members are shying away from the idea, which was up for their consideration.
UPDATED: Local FYI: Azusa has gone dark, that is to say, they canceled their council meetings in August. La Verne canceled tonight's council meeting, but will be meeting again on Aug. 16.
Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune
For those of you busy watching the World Cup over the weekend, I got your local news for you right here.
How the free environmental pass to the Industry Stadium is affecting others.
As for what's to come this week, San Dimas and Glendora both have city council meetings tomorrow.
On Glendora's agenda is a request to change the City Clerk's administrative assistant position to Deputy City Clerk and increasing the position's salary by about $11,000 a year. The city hopes this can help to innovate and better services from the department.
The San Dimas City Council and Planning Commission are having a joint meeting to discuss the ongoing City Hall renovation project and the potential NJD Project Development in the northern foothills.
Two final items of note. Congratulations to my all time favorite baseball player Tim Salmon. Salmon, who has the most career home runs at 299 without ever appearing in an All-Star game, was the MVP of the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game in Anaheim Sunday.
Secondly, for your viewing pleasure and to stay fresh on Internet lingo, this is so double rainbow.
Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune
Working on a story about how the economy has affected cities' ability to produce fireworks and Fourth of July celebration events.
In the process, I spoke with the president of fireworks company Pyro Spectacular, Jim Souza.
Jim said the average fireworks show starts at about $25,000 and goes up from there. At a place like the Rose Bowl's Americafest in Pasadena, the cost can be as much as $200,000, Souza said.
(Souza said the Rose Bowl show is his favorite show to produce and his favorite firework is the Golden Eagle, which he described as being like a weeping willow that stretches nearly to the ground and lasts for about 12 seconds)
Pyro Spectacular does the fireworks for shows in Monterey Park, Whittier, Irwindale, Pomona, South Pasadena, Monrovia, and San Marino, among others, Souza said.
The average show has a 24 foot rent-a-truck full of a ton of hardware, several hundred pounds of fireworks, has mortars, launching equipment, and a crew of 8 to 12 people that work on one show all day.
Each show lasts about 20 minutes, with the exception of the larger shows, he said.
As for some cities, Pico Rivera is spending $25,000 on fireworks and Monterey Park is spending about $35,000 for weekend events.
More to come in tomorrow's story.
Parking tickets.
We all get them, except that is if you're one of the 15 to 20 Pico Rivera officials and their family members who were exempt from parking violations.
A public safety employee -- who requested anonymity citing job safety -- told reporter Bethania Palma Markus that six city parking enforcement officers were told in March not to ticket vehicles belonging to certain elected officials and an administrator.
How would they be able to tell?
Apparently, the hand-held devices they use to issue citations were programmed so that the license plate numbers of vehicles belonging to those people would show up as "exempted vehicles,'" according to the unnamed employee.
City officials said the policy was a way to keep the City Council and the city manager from being ticketed while out on city business.
But the employee said they were told not to ticket certain relatives of the council and city manager as well.
"Why should we penalize our City Council when they are doing (city) business?" City Manager Chuck Fuentes asked at a council meeting last week. "I think it is very legitimate."
Former Pico Rivera Mayor Gracie Gallegos was praised last month for her service to the city, and her decision to resign her post in order to spend more time with her family.
Now, some can't help but wonder if a 2007 felony fraud conviction had anything to do with it.
Bethania Palma reported that Gallegos was accused of cashing a check for $3,173 from the car insurance company where she worked as part of a fraudulent claim in 2007. Yet in March, she was elected to the City Council despite the allegations.
By August of that sane year, she had been convicted.
It appears the conviction was not necessarily a secret at City Hall -- City Manager Chuck Fuentes said Friday Gallegos told him of her legal woes before the August conviction, but he did not disclose the information to other councilmembers because of "confidentiality laws."
Fuentes helped Gallegos on her campaign.
Gallegos says her decision to resign had nothing to do with the felony conviction.
And then she declined to comment further, according to Palma saying she is now "a private citizen" and not obligated to respond to press inquiries.
Read the full story here.
I stumbled upon this Web site from someone who posted a comment on an earlier post ...
If you're interested in Pico Rivera politics, it's worth a look.
Pico Rivera City Councilman Ron Beilke is finally speaking out about complaints filed against him with the District Attorney's alleging election code violations and conflict of interest.
The former mayor called the complaints that led to search warrants being served at his home and restaurant two weeks ago "preposterous," according to Whittier Daily-News reporter Bethania Palma
"The allegation is that he collected absentee ballots," said Dave Demerjian, head of the District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit, of the 2009 election code complaint. It is illegal to collect absentee ballots because the collector could influence votes.
Beilke said, "There's no possible way I handled ballots," Beilke said. "If you have a quantity of ballots what do you do with them? Aren't there checks and balances for turning them in where someone says, 'you can't do that?' That would entail a conspiracy and I would not be the only one being investigated."
Palma wrote a lengthy piece on the investigation in today's paper, in which she also looks at Beilke's controversial time on the Council. He is up for re-election in November, and is planning to run. Do you think the DA investigation will jeopardize his chances of being re-elected to the council?
West Covina passes "insurance" for ambulance rides.
Solis named labor leader. Let the games begin for those, like Board of Equalization Chairwoman Judy Chu and Sen. Gil Cedillo, who want Solis' former Congressional seat.
OctoMom offered $1 million to appear in a porn video.
The infamous tagged up bridge in Pico Rivera that goes over the 605 freeway was cleaned of its graffiti. We'll see how long that lasts.
All of us are feeling the strains of the weak economy, and the National League of Cities reports that nationwide, so are cities. Of the 156 cities that responded to the league's survey, 83 percent said they had spending cuts this year, and 80 percent said they anticipate spending cuts next year.
Here's what they cut to save money:
- Hiring freeze and/or layoffs 69%
Delay, cancellation of capital infrastructure projects 42%
Across the board service cuts 22%
Cancelling libraries, parks, events, etc. 20 %
Reworking employee health care plans 14%
Public safety 6 %
Reworking employee/retiree pension plans 4%
Human/social services 3 %
Other 17%
And how are they raising revenues?
- Raising property taxes 14%
- Raising sales tax 6%
- Raising income tax 0%
- Raise or institute new fees 49%
Locally, SGV cities have taken some of these approaches, both in cuts and raising money. El Monte and West Covina, for example, instituted across the board cuts, and Irwindale City Manager Robert Griego is recommended to his council they consider the same.
Today, we wrote about the top five most memorable politicians in the San Gabriel Valley last year. But there were also a lot of great stories that came out of area, including politicians, their mishaps, and the results of their actions.
OPEN FORUM: What are some of your top stories out of the San Gabriel Valley during 2008?
Here are some that come to mind:
1. I know this came late in the year, but Congresswoman Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, being chosen as labor secretary will hopefully have a positive impact for the SGV and will also bring with it an interesting race to fill her seat.
2. Budget Shortfalls: We've seen shortfalls across the SGV in cities like El Monte - from $400,000 to $4 million -- to West Covina to Irwindale. And these shortfalls keep growing, too, which means the effects on residents and city employees could only get worse.
3. Taxes approved: You'd think that voters would feel economically stressed, but surprisingly residents rose to the challenge when their elected leaders called on them to raise taxes. Pico Rivera, El Monte, and MTA taxes were all approved, and several school districts got their bonds passed, too.
4. Police contract dispute: We saw heated negotiations in Baldwin Park, Arcadia and Monrovia, but ultimately the police officers got what they wanted.
5. Anthony Bejarano was arrested - but cleared - for being drunk in public; former water board director Dolores Holguin can never serve public office again after being charged with one felony county of misuing public funds; the city paid out $330,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim filed against Rosemead Councilman John Nunez.
Think your city is hot stuff?
Find out this weekend. Reporter Daniel Tedford is working on a story about the top cities in the San Gabriel Valley. Tedford is using a CNN/Money Magazine formula to rank the cities based on housing affordability, job growth, marriage and divorce rates, commutes, school test scores, and crime rates.
Just a heads up, you'll likely be VERY surprised to see whose at the top and bottom of the list.
You know it's election time when those mailers start showing up in your mailbox.
And in Pico Rivera, not everyone is happy about a particular mailer backing Measure P -- a 1-percent sales-tax increase initiative the voters will be asked to approve come Nov. 4.
Whittier Daily News reporter Airan Scruby has a story running in tomorrow's paper about the issue.
Here's a brief look at the story:
According to Public Information Officer Bob Spencer, the City Council allotted $35,000 for an "educational outreach program," and so far about $30,000 has been spent, mostly on glossy mailers sent to voters.
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The mailings assert that money to fight crime may dry up, recreational programs will disappear and staff will be fired if the tax measure fails, leaving a $4.8 million budget gap.
********
Mailers have also announced the support of four of five council members, Sheriff Lee Baca and the El Rancho Unified School District.
Opponents to Measure P, including Councilman David Armenta, say the campaign by the city to educate is really about fear mongering.
"It's not an information program," Armenta said. "It's a scare tactic campaign."
*********
No formal complaints have been filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission, organization spokesman Roman Porter said.
According to Porter, materials put out by the city could seem to lean in favor of the tax, but would not necessarily violate the law.
Have any of you guys seen these mailers? What do you guys think: is this educational or propaganda?
Our job as reporters is to report the news.
I think that we do a fine job covering breaking news, whether that is when an investigation is launched or when the day a murder occurs. But following the story after that, well, that is when reporters sometimes fall short. And we certainly have our reasons: other stories break, investigations get held up, and news tips dry up.
This is a theme that has come up several times this week, including this comment by Pico Rivera Mayor Ron Beilke.
Dear Jennifer,
The Whittier Daily News did a great job covering the incident with my son and my two employees with front page stories and courtroom pictures. I did appreciate that the paper mentioned that no charges were filed against my son in the case, especially given Sheriffs discovered that he made two 911 phone calls reporting the person with the gun who was later convicted of the crime.
However, when charges were dropped against my two employees, I couldn't help but notice that that information didn't warrant a front page headline proclaiming that the mayor's employees were cleared of all charges. In fact, no mention of that little fact was even made in this blog that I am responding to here. Of course, I knew all along that charges would be dropped once authorities had time to examine the evidence of the case.
It is unfortunate that stories are so obvioulsy slanted to sell papers and to create sensational headlines. I would hope that when you do report on incidents you at least give as much ink to clearing the names of individuals as you do when smearing them.
While the story did not make front page news, it was in the paper:
Charges dropped against Pico Rivera mayor's employees
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (West Covina, CA) - July 15, 2008Author/Byline: Sandra T. Molina
Section: BreakingWHITTIER - Sonny Anthony Costello was sent to the early disposition program Monday by a Whittier Superior Court judge, in the case where a reserve deputy's 45-caliber gun and vehicle was stolen.
The program allows for parole and probation officers to compile data and then make a recommendation to the district attorney's office, said Olivia Rosales, deputy district attorney in charge of the Whittier D.A.'s office.
"If the judge, our office and the defense attorney agree on the recommendation, then it's accepted and (Costello) serves his sentence," she said. "If not, then he will return to the Whittier court for a preliminary hearing."
The edp hearing is scheduled for July 23 at the Downey Superior Court.
Costello is still in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Two of the other four defendants in the case, Arlene, Cano, 19, and Lorraine Ochoa, 21 pled guilty to possession of stolen property and were sentenced to three years probation and work detail for Caltrans, Rosales said.
Charges were dropped against the final two defendants - Miguel Perez, 19, and Ivan De Jesus Marquez, 24. "There was not sufficient evidence against them," Rosales said.
Perez and Marquez worked for Pico Rivera Mayor Ron Beilke at the time of their arrest last month. "Justice was served," Beilke said Tuesday. "They went through the process and have been cleared."
As far as it not being on the blog, that is an oversight on my part. Like many readers, stories slip past me, and the more news tips, comments and calls we get, the better the blog and paper will be.
Leftovers Column: City's image takes a beating
By Jennifer McLain and Tania Chatila, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 10/05/2008 11:04:48 PM PDT
It's been a rough few months for the city of Baldwin Park's image.
Residents still are concerned about school board member Sergio Corona's arrest in May on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
He currently is facing misdemeanor charges of vandalism, resisting an officer and driving without a license in connection with the arrest.
Then last month, Baldwin Park Councilman Anthony Bejarano was booked on suspicion of public intoxication.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office said last week week it would not be filing charges against Bejarano, who said he was not drunk the night of his arrest.
Still, the incident has stirred unrest in the community and has brought to light a question that often goes unanswered in the political realm - just how high should the ethical and moral bar be set for our public officials?
We put the question out there and got some interesting responses from anonymous readers of the Leftovers blog.
Here's a sample:
-- "Let's face it none of us is perfect in our personal lives..., we go through divorces, we have children who occasionally get in trouble, we occasionally say things in frustration or in the heat of the moment that upon reflection we wish we didn't say, we sometimes get our facts wrong."
-- "Yes, we do hold our elected officials to a higher standard, especially when they are representing us at a public event."
-- "I'm not saying we treat our elected with kid gloves in terms of their policy positions or in terms of factors which might impact their ability to act fairly, honestly and impartially. But I don't care to know about him having a simple argument with a spouse or that his or her kid got a D on their algebra exam or that (on one isolated) night they may have seemed a bit tipsy..."
-- "Character does matter."
Our elected officials have been in the news a lot lately over questions of ethical behavior among themselves and their relatives.
Pico Rivera Mayor Ron Beilke's son was recently detained by the sheriff's department in a case where a reserve deputy's .45-caliber revolver and vehicle were stolen. Beilke's son wasn't charged, but two of the 17-year-old's friends were.
Last month, the teenage son of former Irwindale Councilwoman and Baldwin Park Chief Deputy City Clerk Rosemary Gutierrez plowed his car through a neighbor's wall while driving home around 4 a.m.
A police report was not made, no one was arrested, no one was hurt and neighbors decided not to press charges on what was classified initially as a hit-and-run.
Then in El Monte, Mayor Ernie Gutierrez - who is not related to Rosemary Gutierrez - took a lot of heat for allegedly showing up at a city event drunk and shouting vulgarities.
In May, city officials prepared a report looking into Gutierrez's actions, but concluded the allegations had no merit.
We see this all the time - someone in the public spotlight, whether they be authorities, politicians or entertainment superstars, slips up and all of a sudden their abilities to perform come into question.
Only voter turnout will tell us how much constituents really care.
Can u guess which side of the vote most city officials are on?
Sales tax ballot battle gears up
Groups organize over Measure P in Pico Rivera
By Airan Scruby, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 09/13/2008 09:55:17 PM PDT
PICO RIVERA - As November's political races head into the home stretch, this city is gearing up for its own fight.
Pico Rivera voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to approve Measure P, which would raise the sales tax in the city to 9.25 percent from 8.25 percent. If approved, the tax is expected to bring the city about $6 million.
City employees and City Council members have come out in support of the tax hike, saying that without it, Pico Rivera will have to cut about $4.8 million to balance its budget. That would shut down recreational programs, close the swimming pool at Smith Park, deprive many city employees of their jobs and more, they say.
"We have a grass-roots group of residents," Mayor Ron Beilke said Friday. "We're going door to door."
Beilke chairs a new group set up by residents in favor of the tax. He said he and others have opened an office on Telegraph Road, are walking neighborhoods and organizing to tell residents about what they say are the benefits of Measure P.
City Recreation Supervisor Lupe Aguilar said she and other members of the Pico Rivera Municipal Professional Confidential Employee Association support the measure.
Although city employees cannot advocate the tax while they are working or using city resources, they can support it in their off-time.
"We are currently trying to rally our local churches, the youth organization, we're trying to get different storefronts, and family and friends of course," Aguilar said.
She said she believes losing money and cutting programs would be difficult for Pico Rivera to recover from, even if cash becomes available in the future.
"Once a city goes backward, it's very difficult to get the city back on its feet," Aguilar said.
The Service Employees International Union, a city employee's union, also supports the tax.
Beilke said even the Pico Rivera Chamber of Commerce has given its support to the measure. Beilke said the group voted 11-2 in favor of supporting the tax.
Chamber Executive Director Roger Hartter said the board did vote in support on Aug. 29 but that no further statement would be given until a press release was issued.
Not everyone supports the measure, however. Councilman David Armenta said he is against raising the tax and that it could make some businesses leave the city.
Although the tax would add just one penny on the dollar, that can mean a difference of hundreds of dollars on large purchases like cars and appliances.
"That one percent is their competitive edge," Armenta said.
The tax made the ballot despite Armenta's disapproval. It took a required unanimous vote from council to place it before voters. That vote came when Armenta missed a meeting while on a fishing trip. The council voted 4-0 in favor of sending the tax to a vote.
According to Armenta, no effort has yet been organized against the tax, but he will continue to speak out against it and expects that a group of business owners and a group of residents who oppose it will soon form.
Welcome back to the work week!
Here's this week's column inspired by the great dialogue by our readers last week. Thanks to everyone for participating in the conversation. There were many ideas that we've not heard from our elected leaders:
They say drastic times call for drastic measures.
We've certainly seen a lot of that as local leaders struggle with faltering revenues and excruciating budget cuts.
In West Covina, every department head was asked to cut five percent from their budget to make up for a $2.1million deficit.
In El Monte, facing a $400,000 deficit, council members slashed the Police Department's funds, maintained hiring freezes and cut back on recreation programs.
And in cities like Pico Rivera, El Monte, San Gabriel and Covina, taxes seem to be the only answer to supplement wavering incomes.
Many city council members have said this undoubtedly is a difficult time and it never is easy making cuts.
But what you would do if you were running the show?
Here are some ideas readers came up with, and they're nothing like what our elected officials have suggested:
Eliminate all car, travel and cell phone allowances for council members, as well as car allowances for city employees. "Stop paying for trips to China, Paris, Mexico, etc.," according to one reader.
Cut back on recreation departments, including youth and senior programs.
"Seniors tend to be better off than most non-retired working age folks. Seniors, though they are on fixed incomes, usually have a lifetime's worth of savings and investments accumulated ... and they also enjoy many discounts that non-seniors do not enjoy," another reader wrote.
Turn off at least half of street lights.
"We're figuratively throwing our money into the sky with all the lighting that goes up where it is not needed," one reader wrote.
Cut back on overtime for public safety, review every contract that has been in place in the city for at least three years and consider cutting staffing of "non-essential things such as school resource officers or farmer's markets," according to another reader.
Require those on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to use public transportation to attend meetings. "They're in charge of the MTA; they should be able to get to the meetings using the same public transit they govern. If it's not good enough for them, it's not good for us, either."
While some of these ideas are downright impossible others are more feasible.
Elected officials say city government is a labor of love.
So maybe they should think outside of the box a little more often. And maybe readers should get up from behind their computer screens and attend council meetings a little more often, too. Give those councils a piece of their minds.
Open Forum: Should council members go on conferences out of state if their cities are facing deficits?
It looks like the city has the numbers after all for the cost of sending city officials on a sister city trip to San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Airan Scruby reports.
City defends lack of disclosure on Sister City trip cost
Airan Scruby, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/26/2008 10:44:17 PM PDT
PICO RIVERA - Officials said it was "happenstance" that the cost of sending a Sister City delegation to San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was not released last week.
City Manager Chuck Fuentes said he did not provide information because he believed Interim Finance Director John Herrera would have records of how much money had been budgeted for the trip. Herrera was unable to provide the numbers, he said, because he was out of the office.
"This was one measly little trip, and I'm dealing with multimillion-dollar issues here," Fuentes said. "I think it's just out of proportion."
City spokesman Bob Spencer said he had prepared information on the cost of the trip and the goals of the visit last week, but was not asked for information when this newspaper reported that no figures had been released about the trip.
"Nobody called me," Spencer said. "I had the information. I don't know whether the city manager had that information at his disposal or not."
The city spent about $5,200 to send its five delegates, Spencer said. This was offset by $1,600 earned through sales of DVDs from the Miss Pico Rivera Pageant.
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